Another pay delay irks civil servants

Civil servants have described as "unacceptable" the second delay in a row in their pay dates, demanding that government immediately puts its house in order.
This followed a statement by the Civil Service Commission secretary Pretty Sunguro, that all civil servants, who were supposed to get paid on Tuesday, will now access their April salaries on Thursday.
"The Civil Service Commission advises that the ministry of Finance has moved the pay date for April 2014 for the rest of the civil service from April 22 to April 24 of 2014," she said.
"The ministry of Finance has attributed the change in pay dates to the upcoming Independence and Easter holidays, which will affect the transmission of funds within the banking sector."
Richard Gundani, the Apex Council and Zimbabwe Teachers Association chairperson, told the Daily News that it was unacceptable that the delay was occurring for the second time and represents a unwelcome trend that needs to be stopped.
"Government should follow the pay dates that it has agreed upon and gazetted," Gundani said. "It is not acceptable for civil servants or any worker to have their salaries delayed because a lot of people are looking forward to that money for various reasons.
"With the holiday, many social and family activities happen and now they have inconvenienced a lot of people who had planned to use their hard earned money over the holiday period."
Economic analyst Christopher Mugaga said the delay betrays fiscal pressures on government finances.
"The liquidity crunch is definitely deepening due to the restricted credit lines as well as the country risk which is not being managed," Mugaga said.
Unions were promised a wage increase for Zimbabwe's 235 000 State employees, the bulk of whom are teachers in April, but the money is yet to materialise.
Chinamasa was challenged recently in Parliament when government would honour its pledge, but he was non-committal.
"We are not yet in April," Chinamasa said.
But speaking at his belated birthday party organised for him by the Public Service Commission, Mugabe said the pledge would be honoured. 
"We were promised that we would get the money in April," Mugabe told the luncheon held at a local hotel.
"I was talking to (Public Service Commission chairman) Mariyawanda Nzuwah who is close to Chinamasa and he assured me that we would be paid. Even the President is also a worker."
Mugabe blamed sanctions for the crisis.
"We are currently going through a difficult patch as a result of the sanctions that were imposed on us," he said.
"This has resulted in a delay in the fulfilment of the promises of a salary increment that we made last year.
"It is, however, just a technical delay in the mobilisation of the monies, but the promise will be honoured.
"It is our wish, as Government, to have all our workers adequately compensated for their hard work."
The new salary schedule agreed upon will see the least paid civil servant banking $375 monthly, inclusive of $91 and $66 housing and transport allowance with teachers' salaries pegged at around $500.